I've never done low-carb (no bread?? HAHAHA no thanks), but my husband and some of our friends jumped hard on the Atkins bandwagon when it became popular. My husband and two of his friends were dizzy, tired and nauseous for the entire first two weeks. It's apparently common and called the "Atkins flu" or "induction flu," and it's your body's reaction to the switch to low carbs. It resolved within the first few weeks for our two friends, my husband ended up quitting

But hey, you gave it an honest try and if it's not for you, so what? It's so important to find a WOE that works for you, that makes you happy and that's effective. I could never do low-carb - and I totally admire anyone who can - but I've found something else that works great and I'm happy!

Thanks so much for the info, futureformerfisher! Yes, that sounds exactly like what I had. I'm back to low calorie and it seems to be working just fine without the undesirable side effects.

I am setting a new mini goal for myself today. I got on the scales this morning, and I am down 25 lbs since my start date of May 22. I would like to be at 249 by next Sunday. That's 5 lbs in one week. I think it can be done if I stick to my plan and continue to walk on my treadmill. I still haven't made it to the 30 minutes a day that I had planned, but maybe that can be part of my mini goal too.

Good luck everyone, and good luck me!

I just thought of a new benefit to losing weight! I have a motorhome. It's a Class C, which means it's got the van type driver's area. The seats in the front aren't very adjustable, and the last time I had to drive (don't drive often since I live with a professional truck driver), it was a tight squeeze behind that steering wheel. I sat down to crank it up and let it run for a while last week, and noticed that there is space between my stomach and the steering wheel! There was none the last time I drove, and I was quite uncomfortable. Not only will I fit behind the wheel better, I will fit in the dinette better. It was a tight squeeze too. Now that is motivation. I love that motorhome more than most foods....LOL

on your 17 Lbs loss!! Great job!! Wishing you much continue efforts..

Thanks, Liliann! I was needing some encouragement right now.

Hi! I just saw that your previous questions weren't answered and thought I'd comment. (I do see though that your new diet is working fine - congrats! I'm just posting bc others may read this and have the same questions.)

I am having great success with low carb eating but I do not track calories and I eat low carb and high fat. I am prediabetic and my blood sugar levels are significantly improved eating this way. I would never suggest going against dr recommendations but if you are doing low carb I suspect those levels of calories may be too low and your body likely held onto everything it could. For the flu like symptoms (which I never had) you are supposed to drink some broth to add the sodium back that is being flushed out.

Low carb is not for everyone but I had a pretty significant addiction to sugar and it has really eliminated that. The first week is hard but once your body starts burning fat instead of the carbs it is used to getting, cravings subside. I don't track carbs either, I just avoid the obvious sources of higher amounts of simple carbs like bread, pasta, rice, sugary beverages/foods.

Congrats! I love this site and feel like I have made some understanding 3fc friends. Even if only online. Much success with the walking I'm running now and training with an app called c25k. Who knew I could run? I wish you all the success and to kick diabetes/ cholesterol/ high bp's but with weight loss and exercise. Welcome !

My Dr. Recommended NOT to run. He said it makes everything sag a lot faster. Also I am of the very large breasted variety of hen. Also I was a catcher for 16 years, so my knees are like a 90 year old's. Dr. said walking will do just fine as long as its AT LEAST 20 min 3 days a week. Of course I walk more than that. I do an hour 4-5 times a week and homemade above ground pool aerobics 2 times a week if the weather permits.

AM I BAD???
I decided to have a (treat) day once a week where I splurge and eat/ drink what I want, WITHOUT going overboard. I am having a very hard time with caffeine withdrawal. Sugar not so much. I was a faithful daily coca cola drinker, consuming up to 7 a day. My problem is that I have a 32oz insulated "Bubba Keg" and it would always be full. Now it's always full of green tea.
I have been doing volumetrics around 1300-1600 cal/day and am already down 8 lbs. and Wednesdays around here are called Weigh-in Wednesdays. My DH is doing it with me. I am curious to see what y'all think of a treat day though.

Hi everybody!

Shannonsnail, I really appreciate you addressing my concerns about low carb. My brother has just started back on low carb. He always does well with that plan, but unfortunately like all of us who have weight issues, he gains it back in the end. I may address the low carb plan with my doctor and discuss raising my caloric intake because I just have zero energy all the time.

Cheddahcat, I know exactly what you mean. I feel like I am among friends here too. I am trying so hard to get on that treadmill every night. I did miss a couple of nights last week, but I'm not going to punish myself over it. The scales are doing that just fine. I set a mini goal for this week of a 5 lb loss, and so far, I haven't lost an ounce. Thanks for the warm welcome, and I'll be keeping an eye out for you around here. Good luck on your journey as well.

Lacy, I plan a cheat day every other weekend, so I don't think you're bad at all. I try to be like you and not just kill myself, sometimes it's only one meal that I will splurge on (last night was my cheat, and I had 2 pieces of pizza and 3 breadsticks), but I think that human beings were given this life to enjoy to a certain degree, and food is something that I enjoy. I've also noticed that I can't eat as much as I used to either, so that helps cut back on the calories I get out of my cheat day.

Good luck to you all, and I hope you all have great results. We're in this together!

OK....time to reset the mini goal that proved how badly I can let myself down. This time last week, I was weighing 254. Now, instead of losing 5 lbs, I gained 3. GRRRR...just a little aggravated with myself. I hope everyone else had better success this week. I can tell by looking at my feet that they are somewhat swollen, so I figure that some of that is water retention due to the carbs from my pizza and breadsticks that I splurged on. Time to start buckling down!